Desmond Dekker – Rude Boy Ska

Desmond Dekker

Desmond Adolphus Dacres entered the world in Saint Andrew Parish in July 1941. Reggae audiences would come to know him as Desmond Dekker. His recording career began in 1963 under producer Leslie Kong at Beverley’s Records, and his first single, Honour Your Mother and Father, which he wrote himself, quickly drew attention to a considerable new voice.

Soon afterwards, he teamed with Wilson James, Easton Barrington Howard and Carl Johnson as The Aces. The group became one of Jamaica’s best-loved vocal combinations, and their recordings ran alongside the island’s move from ska through rocksteady and into reggae.

Wider recognition arrived in 1967, when 007 (Shanty Town) entered the UK Top Ten and became one of the rude boy era’s signature records. The following year, Dekker and The Aces took the first Jamaican Festival Song Contest with Music Like Dirt. Then, in April 1969, Israelites went to number one in Britain and later reached the US Top Ten. It stood among the earliest Jamaican records to make a major impact outside the Caribbean, and its reception helped create space for reggae artists pursuing audiences beyond Jamaica.

Dekker moved to the United Kingdom in 1969. His chart run eventually slowed, but the late-seventies 2-Tone revival brought his music before a younger crowd. He toured widely again and appeared alongside groups shaped by the Jamaican sounds he had helped carry abroad, The Specials among them. He kept working for decades afterwards, releasing King Of Kings with Pauline Black in 1993 and Half Way To Israel in 1999. He was still performing near the end of his life, and died of a heart attack at his Surrey home in May 2006, aged 64.

Rude Boy Ska 2026

Burning Sounds now returns to the closing stretch of Dekker’s recording career with Rude Boy Ska, pressed on heavyweight 180-gram transparent purple vinyl. The material dates from 2004, although a UK vinyl edition under the same title had already appeared as a Record Store Day 2016 release.

The ten songs were cut in January 2004 at Roll Over Studios in London. They were the last studio recordings Dekker completed. Rather than offering unfamiliar material, the set revisits several of his most familiar songs, with new versions of It Mek, Israelites, You Can Get It If You Really Want, Unity and Sing A Little Song.

Leon Delroy Williams produced the sessions. A longtime manager and touring companion of Dekker, he also sings backing vocals. Carolyn Catlin and George Dekker, the singer’s half-brother and a founding member of The Pioneers, supply further harmonies.

The band carries considerable history of its own. Gordon Mulrain plays bass, with his brother Aubrey Mulrain on keyboards; both built their names in UK roots band Jah Warriors during the 1980s. Michael “Bami” Rose, formerly of Cymande, plays tenor saxophone. Trumpeter Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton completes the horn section, drawing on a career that reaches back to early Studio One sessions and extends across UK reggae, ska and punk recordings.

Final studio statement

Veteran singers remaking their best-known material rarely guarantee a rewarding listen. This one does. The sessions carry a plain, unforced sincerity, and nothing here suggests a hurried attempt to trade on past success or repackage familiar songs. The performances sound committed, as though everyone involved recognised both the value of the songs and the need to treat them with care.

Given the calibre of the players, high expectations were reasonable. For the most part, they are met. Engineer Michael Campbell, known for his work with Aswad, gives the record a full, weighty sound, with bass sitting warmly and prominently in the mix. Dekker himself remains the central presence. His voice had lost little of its clarity or individual character, and on several numbers these versions sit surprisingly close to the originals.

Collectors will each miss something from so large a catalogue, and the absence of 007 (Shanty Town) may disappoint some. Even so, Rude Boy Ska makes a fitting closing studio record from one of Jamaican music’s genuine pioneers, and it deserves a place in any serious reggae collection.